This invention relates to vehicle washing apparatus and, more particularly, to apparatus for scrubbing the upper portions of a vehicle as it moves along a predetermined path through a wash bay.
Many conventional automatic vehicle washing devices employs some means for scrubbing the upper portions of the vehicle as it moves along a predetermined path through a wash bay. For example, a horizontally extending rotary brush which engages the top portions of the vehicle and one or more large stationary curtains which drape over and drag along the upper surfaces of the vehicle have been used for this purpose. These devices are not completely satisfactory because a thorough scrubbing is not provided on certain areas of the vehicle, such as the hood, front and rear windows, the trunk, and horizontally extending side window ledges. U.S. Pat. No. 3,157,405 describes a device using a plurality of ribboned curtains which are reciprocated back and forth across the vehicle. Although this device is capable of providing reasonably good scrubbing of some portions of the vehicle, it is not capable of providing completely satisfactory scrubbing for other area, particularly the front end, the rear portion of square-back vehicles, such as station wagons, panel trucks, etc. and the top surfaces of horizontally extending side window ledges.